The year 490
by Izzy
Summary: The first year at Hogwarts ever. Meet Merlin, Ygraine, and the ancestors of the Weasleys and Malfoys.
1. There's a First Class for Every School

Izzy here, with my fanfic, "There's a First Class for Every School", a Harry Potter fanfic set in pre- Arthurian times, which in this universe is also the first days of Hogwarts(even if it's way streching it, since Hogwarts was only supposed to be founded over a thousand years ago). Be aware that much of my Autharian knowledge comes from Mary Stewart, and this interpertation favors hers. This may be the first in a very long series off the classes that came before the 1990s(and maybe after, if I get that far) There's a First Class For Every School By Izzy 

It was very crowded in the Entrance Hall. There were only eightteen children in all, each dressed in black wizard robes, but each of them had a trunk with them, and many had either a cat at thier feet or a toad or an owl on their shoulder. Several adults were there as well, trying to keep some semblence of order. One by one, the children were called off into a small chamber off the Hall to be interviewed. 

A tall boy with dark eyes and pale hair stood near the wall. Those who saw him were often reminded of a hawk. His trunk was beside him, it was an old grand-looking thing that seemed a hair's breath away from breaking. There was no animal with him. His name was Myrddin, but he was called Merlin. 

He heard his named called. Leaving his trunk as he had been instructed, he walked into the chamber. 

There were four people sitting there:a tall man with short black hair in scarlet robes, a beautiful blonde woman in blue robes, slightly shorter then the black-haired man, a much shorter woman with wavy brown hair in yellow robes, and a man in green robes a bit taller then the second woman with pale hair-the same tint, Merlin noticed, as his own. The man looked at Merlin, and Merlin was spooked to see his own dark eyes. He knew well these were the Founders of this new school. 

"Sit down," said the man in scarlet. He gestured to a four-legged stool. "I am Godric Gryffindor, this-" he gestured to the woman in blue, "is Rowena Ravenclaw, this-" the woman in yellow, "is Helga Hufflepuff, and this-" the man in green, "is Salazar Slytherin." 

Merlin could feel Slytherin's gaze, especially, as he sat down on the stool. This increased a suspicion he had held since he had entered the room. 

"I have heard," said Gryffindor, "you are sometimes called Merlin. Why is that?" 

"I think it is because of my resemblence to the hawk, sir." 

"So it reflects on nothing else?" asked Ravenclaw, "besides your appearance." 

"I do not think it does, ma'am." 

"Who were your parents?" asked Slytherin. His stare became even more intent as he asked this question. 

"My mother is a daughter of the King of Wales." said Merlin. 

"And your father?" His gaze was now impossible to avoid. Merlin looked up into those dark eyes. 

"I do not know. My mother never told me." 

They asked a number of questions from there, Merlin answering each, unable to escape Slytherin's eyes. He asked the most questions. 

Finally Gryffindor said, "Wait right out there, while we decide which House you will be placed in." 

Merlin when to the door he pointed out, and stepped into the Great Hall. He did not notice much about the hall, as he immediately put his ear to the door to listen. This is what he heard: 

"Well, Salazar. It seems you have met the eldest of your bastard children. By his age, you must have conceived him when you were, what, twenty-two?" 

"Yes, twenty-two. I remember his mother very well. She wasn't out of her teens yet. I never told her who I was, I just appeared to her and then dissapeared again. She mistook me for the Devil-a demon a lot of Muggles believe in-which meant she wouldn't tell anyone about me." 

"I suppose you will want him in your House." 

"Not really. He does not suit me very well." 

"He does not suit me at that." 

"Rowena?" 

"If you wish-" 

"I do." 

The door opened, and Gryffindor stepped out. 

"You are to be in my House. You will sit at the table furthest left." 

Merlin started towards the furthest left of the four tables, but found himself stopping to take a look around the Great Hall. It was the finest room he'd ever seen, and he'd been in some pretty amazing rooms. Most intriguing was the ceiling, which looked like it opened the heavens, and it was only because he'd heard so that knew it was merely enchanted to look like that. There was only one student at the table, a flame-haired boy. 

"Another one!" said the boy gleefully. "What's your name?" 

"Myrddin. Call me Merlin, everyone does." 

"I can see why," the boy replied. "I'm Nathan. Nathan Weasley. So, are you excited? We're the first class at this school. The first people to walk the halls of this castle after the four Founders." 

"Well," pointed out Merlin, "there are the teachers. They've been through the halls before us." 

There was a single teacher at the staff table in front of the four tables. He was a rather elderly looking-man who seemed amazingly generic and unremarkable. 

"That's Professor Binns." said Nathan. "He's going to be teaching us History of Magic. I've been watching him for the last half-hour, and I've got the feeling he's going to be really boring." 

"You've been here half an hour?" 

"More. Now I know why they asked we arrive as early as possible. It'll be time for dinner by the time they've gotten through everyone." 

"How long did they keep me in there?" asked Merlin. "Were you paying attention? I'm afraid I wasn't." 

"No idea. But you spent a relatively short amount of time outside the door while they discussed where you'd go. I spent two minutes, at the very least, listening to them argue over it." 

Merlin breifley considered whether or not he should tell Nathan who his father was, but couldn't resist being able to tell someone. "I heard them saying something interesting about me. Want to know who my father is?" 

"Why would they be discussing that?" asked Nathan in confusion. 

"Because I'm Slytherin's son." 

"You're what?" Nathan looked stunned. "How-" 

"He seduced my Muggle mother-she's the daughter of the King of Wales-when she was nineteen. Never told her who he was. The Muggles think I'm a Prince of Darkness." 

"So you're half-blood?" 

"If that means I have one Muggle and one wizard parent, yes." 

"You don't know-" 

"I didn't know anything until an owl flew through my window with a letter saying I was to be accepted to this school." 

"Just like the Muggle-borns," commented Nathan. 

"Are both your parents wizards?" 

Nathan nodded. "I suppose it'll be interesting, meeting people from the Muggle world. So, you said your mother was a Welsh Princess. What's your life been like?" 

"Not very good, since I'm a bastard child, and an suspected Prince of Darkness. The adults shun me, and the kids bully me, and I've never been strong enough to hit back without getting beaten up. I don't want to know how they'd react to learn I'm a wizard. Mother knows, she made up a story, and they won't care enough to question her." 

"Wow. Mother said Muggles can be foolish sometimes. You know they're deathly afraid of us. Try to kill us whenever they can." 

"I'm sorry about that." said Merlin. 

They continued to talk. Then suddenly Nathan pointed. 

"Hey, look." A pretty black-haired girl had entered the Great Hall. She stared about her in unabashed wonderment. 

"Ah. I've seen her before," commented Nathan. "My father was one of the volunteers to scout the country for Muggle-born witches and wizards, and he found her. Her name's Ygraine. I asked her last name, but apparently lots of Muggles don't have them. Her family's got a fair amount of power in the Muggle world. I've heard she's bethrothed to a duke three times her age!" 

"I've heard of worse," replied Merlin. "Mother told me when she was nine she was bethrothed to someone forty years old. But he died when she was our-and Ygraine's-age." 

They watched as Ygraine was directed by Hufflepuff to the second table on the right. There were already two people seated there. 

Hours later... 

The tables had filled up, slowly but surely. Merlin found himself sitting not only with Nathan but with a third boy named Cedric and a girl named Elise. There were six people at Hufflepuff's table, three at Ravenclaw's, and four at Slytherin's. The teachers that had previously been keeping order outside had now gathered at the staff table. Finally all four Founders entered the hall, and Slytherin directed the last student, a girl with a pale pointed face and very pale hair, to his table. Merlin heard her introduce herself to her tablemates as Lucinda Malfoy. 

"So," said Godric Gryffindor. "You've all been Sorted. As you can see, there are four Houses, each headed by one of the four of us." 

"I know they seem small right now, but remember there are more students coming next year, and by your seventh year, you will find your House has grown to a good size." 

"While you are within Hogwarts, you will live with your housemates. You will have your lessons with your housemates, eat at your house table, and spend much of your time in your house common room. In the future, the Houses may compete against each other, but not this year." 

"So let us introduce the Houses, and the qualities of the students choosen for them." 

"My House," he walked over to his table, "Gryffindor, is for those students with courage and morals." 

"My House, Ravenclaw, are for those with great strength of mind." 

"My House, Hufflepuff, are for those who work hard and loyally." 

"My House, Slytherin, are for those who strive for greatness." 

"Now," said Gryffindor, "there are a few things you should know about. First of all, it should be noticed that due to the beasts that live there, the students are not allowed in the forests on the grounds. Also, no magic is allowed in the corridors between classes." 

"Those things said, we may eat." 

The four Founders walked to the staff table and sat down together at the head. Then the tables began to fill with food. Merlin had never eaten such fine food in his life, so he didn't pay much attention to the conversation between the other three, who apparently were all from all-wizard families. 

Then they were done eating, and were heading up to bed. Feeling very tired, his four students followed Gryffindor up a marble flight of stairs, through long corridors, through two hidden doorways, up more stairs. 

As they walked down a corridor, Merlin thought he saw something moving at the end. Then he gave a yelp-there was a fresco of a girl in a strange white outfit-_and she was dancing about the wall._

"What's wrong?" asked Gryffindor. 

Merlin pointed. "The girl-she's moving!" 

"And the problem with that is-" asked Cedric. He sounded genuinely confused. 

Gryffindor led the dazed Merlin and the apparently unfazed Nathan, Cedric, and Elise to the wall, which was a dead end. The girl looked up and giggled. "Password?" 

Merlin gave another yelp. 

"Horatius," said Gryffindor calmly, and part of the wall slid open, revealing a cozy-looking room beyond. 

"What's wrong?" asked Elise. "You're acting like you never saw a picture move before." 

"Well, I haven't." He hadn't seen many pictures either, but the few he had seen definitly hadn't moved. 

"What, do pictures stay still in the Muggle world?" she sounded amazed. 

"Well, yes..." They clambered over the lower wall into the common room. 

"You've got a dormitory all to yourself, my dear," said Gryffindor to Elise. "It's up over that way. You three share one up that way." 

So Elise went one way, and Cedric, Merlin, and Nathan headed the other. Up a staircase, and into a circular room, containing three beds, each with velvet hangings. It was the best bed Merlin had ever slept in, of the same quality on the best lords and ladies could afford. It took him awhile to fall asleep;his head was so full of wonder.  [Comments?][1]

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	2. Flying and Friendship

Izzy here, with my fanfic, "Flying and Friendship", the next story in my very long series of classes before the 1990s. Rowling owns the setting, but I don't think anyone owns the Arthurian characters anymore, and Elise, Cedric(not to be confused with Diggory), Nathan, and Lucinda are all my own creations. Warning:A Slytherin uses a bad word. 

## Flying and Friendship

### By Izzy

A week passed, and Merlin's amazement, starting with his encounter with the girl on the wall, who he found was called The Roman Dancing Girl, only grew. He had heard of magic talked of previously in fearful voices, and he had never seriously believed it to exist. He knew well that people like his teachers and his classmates, and his fellow Gryffindors, Nathan Weasley, Elise Tharn, and Cedric Dekker were those he had been warned again and told were evil and dangerous, but he found himself liking them better then the Muggles who had raised him. And furthermore, he realized three days into school, while he brewed his first potion under the watchful eyes of Professor Ravenclaw, he was one of them now. 

He noted the two Hufflepuffs and one Ravenclaw who had also grown up amoung Muggles seemed equally dazed. There were no Muggle-borns amoung the Slytherins. The Slytherins made sure everyone else was aware of that, and the four Slytherin boys often teased Merlin and the three Muggle-borns. Merlin, who had been teased previously for being a bastard with no father, ignored it easily. He could not help, however, but feel sorry for Ygraine. She hated being teased, and apon discovering this, they pestered her the most. 

Lucinda Malfoy did not tease. Merlin would have preferred it if she had. Instead, everytime she looked at him or one of the Muggle-borns, her expression was one of pure hatred. He couldn't think why. As for his father, after one Transfiguration lesson, Merlin decided he might as well have never found his father, because Slytherin seemed determined to ignore the fact that Merlin was his son. 

He had never been so busy in his life either. Boredom was a thing of the past. When he wasn't in classes, he was doing homework. And when he had spare time, he found himself spending it with Nathan as a friendship started to form between the two. 

Merlin had never had a friend before. Now, in the unfamiliar and sometimes frightening enviroment, he was glad to have someone to talk to, someone share the experiences with. When Sunday came around without classes, he and Nathan spent the day in the common room together, doing homework and Nathan teaching Merlin how to play Gobstones. 

Late that Sunday Cedric and Elise burst in, looking excited. "Flying lessons!" Elise announced. "Tommorrow afternoon, right after lunch. We're being taught by Siani." 

"Siani?" asked Nathan increduosly. "The Quidditch player?" 

"Yeah." said Cedric, before Merlin could even wonder what Quidditch was. "But he doesn't have time apparently, because all four Houses are learning together. The school's supplying the brooms- " 

"Brooms?" asked Merlin. 

"You fly on broomstick." explained Elise. They were all used to explaining things to Merlin by now. "You'll love flying, it's the best thing in the world," she continued. "I'll teach you how to play Quidditch too, it's so much fun." 

And that was how Merlin found himself with the other 17 students on the lawn Monday afternoon with a broomstick before him. He had never even seen one before. 

"Put your right hand over your broom," said Siani from the front, "and say, "Up!" 

"Up!" everyone yelled. 

Elise's broom leaped up into her hand. So did Ygraine's and one of the Ravenclaws'. All the other brooms stayed where they were. 

This didn't seem to bother Siani, who then showed them how to mount thier broom. "Now on my command, you will kick the ground hard, which will give you liftoff. Keep a firm grip on your broom, and come down by leaning forward slightly. Now-KICK!" 

Merlin kicked-the wrong way, and next thing he knew, he was upside down, the ground several feet below his head, clinging to his broomstick for dear life. 

He tried feebly to get himself back over the broom, or the broom back under him, which proved to be a mistake. Now he was flying-still upside-down, very high up. In his terror he lost his grip, and was falling-he was going to die- 

And then there was a blur, a hand brushed his, then gripped it, and a voice yelled, "I got him!" He was being lowered gently, until his feet settled onto the ground, and he looked up at his savior. 

It was Ygraine. She was hovering several feet in the air, a look of concern on her face. "You all right?" 

"_Wow!_" Siani had made his way over, the other students following him. "That was amazing! You must have been on a broom a lot, Miss-er, Ygrat?" 

"Ygraine. And I've never been on a broom before." 

Siani's jaw dropped in amazement. 

"Then you've got to be a real natural," said Elise. She was duely impressed. 

"That Mudblood?" demanded one of the Slytherins. "You're kidding me!" 

Merlin thought he had a pretty good idea what "Mudblood" meant, and it must have been very offensive too, because the non-Slytherin pure-bloods immediately began shouting angrily, and Siani looked furious. "Mr. Goyle! Watch your mouth! BE QUIET!" Everyone quieted. 

"Now, Ygraine may have just saved Mr. Myrddin's life-" 

"And he's the son of a Muggle bitch-" muttered Goyle, and was silenced by a glare from Siani. 

"And is also your classmate, and you will treat *all* your classmates with respect." 

"They don't deserve it," said a soft voice. 

"What did you say, Miss Malfoy?" demanded Siani angrily. 

"You heard me." Merlin had heard stories about angry Angels bearing down on sinners, and Lucinda looked exactly as he had always pictured them. Beautiful, but terrible, with a look of righteous fury and hatred on her face. A look directed at him and Ygraine. "They have blood on thier hands." 

Merlin and Ygraine both looked at thier hands in bewilderment, Ygraine nearly falling off her broom. 

"I didn't mean literally," hissed Lucinda. "You and your kind." 

"Miss Malfoy, stop." said Siani, but Merlin interrupted. 

"Let her speak. Otherwise she'll go back to glaring at us in halls. I want to know why she does it." 

"Do you?" sneered Lucinda. "Fine then, Mudblood. _Your kind killed my mother._" 

"Oh!" said Cedric loudly. "You're angry because your mother didn't know how to perform a basic Flame-Freezing charm?" 

"Oh no," replied Lucinda, growing louder. "They didn't bother taking her to the stake. They stabbed her to death in the woods. When we recovered her body, it was barely recognizable!" 

"I'm sorry-" started Ygraine. 

"Sorry?? My mother was brutally murdered and all you can say is you're sorry??" 

"Lucinda-" started Elise, but Lucinda turned abruptly and walked away, still shaking with fury. 

The flying lesson, all in all, did not go well after that. Merlin seemed unable to get his broom to go strait, until at the end of the lesson Elise was suggesting she give him some private tutoring. 

"I guess I'm just no good at it," he said sadly as they headed up to Charms, which was taught by Hufflepuff. 

That night, when they headed down for dinner... 

That night, when they headed down for dinner, they were walking across the Entrance Hall when they heard the sound of crying, and turned to see Ygraine run down the stairs, tears running down her face. Merlin heading towards them. "Are they teasing you again?" he asked. 

She nodded. "I shook them off." 

"Come on, they'll be here any minute." Taking her hand in his, he led her across the Hall. 

"Lucinda's got a right to be angry, you know." said Elise. 

"She doesn't a right to do this to Ygraine." Merlin insisted. "I think she got the boys to tease us like this." 

"She had nothing to do with it!" said Elise, getting angry. 

"You've been spending a lot of time with her," said Nathan. 

"She's the only girl in her House, and so am I. We turned to each other. I think she's better then her Housemates. They just tease Ygraine and Merlin and the others for fun. As I said, she's got a right to be angry." At a glare from her Housemates, she added, "I agree she went over the line during flying lessons today. I'll talk to her about it." 

Merlin walked Ygraine to her table. She thanked him and smiled sweetly. _I think I've made myself another friend,_ he thought as he made his way to the Gryffindor table. 

* * *

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	3. One Ordinary Morning

Izzy here, with my fanfic, "One Ordinary Morning", the third in my Very Long Series. Oh, and before anyone else asks, Ygraine's an Arthurian character, I didn't make up the name. Rowling owns the four Founders, but right now all thier students are either mine or public domain, because hers won't be born for over a thousand years. 

## One Ordinary Morning

### By Izzy

A month had passed, and Merlin slowly got used to his new life. The fact that all his other flying lessons ended in disaster started to bother him less as he excelled in other things. Transfigurations, for instance, where he was best in the class. Not that it seemed to make any difference. Slytherin kept finding excuses to put him down, as if Merlin was a piece of mud he wished to wipe off his robes. 

"Stop bothering yourself with it," said Nathan at breakfast one ordinary morning. "He doesn't like Gryffindors. I think he's resentful that Gryffindor's Headmaster of the school." 

"That Goyle's driving me crazy!" added Elise. "He's very protective of Lucinda. I think he's in Vassal Status or something. A special sort of deal between families," she explained towards Merlin, "where a weak family is bound to serve a powerful one for a certain amount of time, usually two-thousand years, and in return are guarded by that family. And Goyle doesn't trust Gryffindors." 

Merlin, was struck speechless by the revelation of Vassals. "Two-thousand years?" he finally managed. 

"Usually," Elise replied matter-of-factly. "The shortest amount of time can be one year and the longest amount-" 

But at this point she was interrupted by a swish of wings, as several owls flew into the Great Hall. Merlin was long since used to this. At the Slytherin table, Lucinda caught a letter which he heard her say was from her brother Clodius. Meanwhile, a battered old owl flew over to Nathan, and dropped a letter in front of him before collasping in his breakfast. 

"It's Agrippa," Nathan explained. "He's rather old." He pulled open the letter. Seconds later he gasped and dropped the letter. 

"What?" Merlin leaned over and picked the letter up. He got as far as _Nathan, I'm having another baby-_, before putting the letter down, not needing to read any further. 

It suddenly occured to Merlin that although he had told Nathan about his family, they had not talked much about Nathan's. That struck him as rather odd. Now seemed a good time to change that. 

"How many siblings do you have?" he asked. 

"Four," answered Nathan, "not counting the one on its way. Mum said she thought she'd had as many as she could after Lawerence was born last year, but I guess she was wrong." 

But before he could say anything further, there was clapping and cheering coming from the Hufflepuff table. Ygraine proudly held a letter. 

Merlin got up and walked over. "Hi, Ygraine. What's going on?" 

"Mother finally figured out how to use the owl post!" She showed Merlin the letter. "She got me the owl, but warned me I might not be able to use it to contact her." 

"So what's the letter say?" asked Timothy, another one of the Hufflepuffs. 

Ygraine started to read the letter, but very suddenly her voice died away. The scene started to fade before Merlin, and suddenly he was flying forwards very fast- 

Then he was out on the grounds, but it was night, and there was a pond there that definitly wasn't there now. And standing by it, gazing at his reflection with a pensive look on his face, was Godric Gryffindor. 

Merlin hurried over. "Professor Gryffindor, sir, what's going on?" 

Gryffindor did not respond. He did not even show a sign he had heard Merlin. "Professor Gryffindor, sir?" 

Still no response. Then Gryffindor looked up, and looked straight through Merlin, at something beyond him. Merlin turned, and saw Ravenclaw walking up. She too looked straight through him. 

And then she walked straight through him. It was as if he wasn't there. She walked up to Gryffindor, and he kissed her, as a lover would. 

"You did not protest," he said, as they pulled apart. 

"There's no use in trying to hide it now, Godric," she replied. "They all know. There are 56 students and twelve adults besides us in this school, and not one of them doesn't know we're lovers." 

_Wait a minute._ There only 18 students, and seven adults other then Gryffindor and Ravenclaw. And now that he took a closer look at the two of them, thier hair was longer, by about the amount one would expect it to grow in the space of two years- 

And then it hit him. He was seeing into the future. They were treating him like he wasn't there because he actually wasn't. 

For some reason, this didn't amaze him. Perhaps he'd already been through so many incredible things that one more didn't impress him anymore. 

"Then I guess there's only one thing to do." said Gryffindor. And he pulled a band of gold out of his robes. "Marry me, Rowena." 

In spite of himself, Merlin found himself moving to see Ravenclaw's reaction. She looked stunned. Then she smiled broadly, and said, "I will." 

And then the scene faded, and he was flying backwards- 

"Merlin? Merlin? Are you allright?" Ygraine was looking at him, concerned. 

"I just the future-" he started. 

"You WHAT?" demanded Timothy in amazement. 

"Saw the future, and-" 

"Are you sure?" asked Timothy. Merlin wondered if seeing into the future was quite as commonplace as he had assumed. 

"Well-" 

"You saw the future?" asked a quiet voice beside him. Professor Hufflepuff. 

"Yes," said Merlin, "and-" 

"Come with me." 

Merlin was so surprised he didn't protest. He followed Hufflepuff out of the Great Hall, up several staircases, to her office. 

"What happened?" she asked immediately. 

So Merlin explained how he had been pulled into the vision, and what he had seen. Hufflepuff did not seem bothered by the revelation that Gryffindor and Ravenclaw would be lovers in the future. Perhaps they were lovers already, and Hufflepuff already knew. Or maybe she didn't believe he was really seeing the future. When it came to that, he couldn't be completely certain someone hadn't performed some spell on him as a joke. 

"So," she said softly, almost to herself, when he had finished. "You have the Sight." 

"Is it uncommon?" Merlin asked nervously. 

"You have no idea..." Hufflepuff's voice drifted off. "Of course, in a way one could have expected it, given your family." 

Merlin didn't need to ask what she meant by that, but he did anyway. "You mean my father?" 

"The Slytherin family is very famous. Or perhaps infamous might describe it better. Both, in a way. Rare gifts have a knack for turning up in your family. You've heard, I assume, that your father is a Parselmouth." 

He nodded. "I've also heard that-that's a mark of a Dark Wizard." 

She must have realized what he was afraid of, because she replied. "There's a lot of Dark Magic in your family, yes, I won't deny that. But there have been plenty of Slytherins who have had nothing to do with the Dark Side of magic. And that your father rejects you, suggests, to be quite honest, that you are one of them." 

"But I must warn you, Myrddin, the Sight is no easy gift. The future is a very complicated matter. When you know it, the certainty that something will happen can sometimes be impossible, but still you know, and it is very confusing, and that's only one problem." 

This made utterly no sense to Merlin, and it must have shown, because Hufflepuff continued, "Quite simply, seeing the future can be a terrible strain on the mind. Many Seers go mad. Others surpress thier ability, and then end up working themselves into a corner faking predictions." 

Then she stood up, and Myrddin, guessing the interview was over, did likewise. But there was something else he wanted to know. "Gryffindor and Ravenclaw, are they-" 

"Yes." said Hufflepuff flatly. "They have been lovers for years. I need hardly tell you not to tell anyone. They will find out when it is time." 

Maybe it hadn't been such an ordinary morning... 

* * *

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	4. The Writing Lesson

Izzy here, with my fanfic, "The Writing Lesson", another installment from the Very Long Series, back in 490. No, I haven't forgotten this. Besides, a few more here and some more there, and then I'm considering jumping forward to the MWWP era. This story focuses on Elise Tharn, and is me experimenting. Rowling owns the setting, I own Elise, Cedric, etc., and Merlin and Ygraine are owned by noone. 

## The Writing Lesson

### By Izzy

The three Muggle-borns sat thier knees, facing Elise Tharn as she handed back thier pieces of parchement. Behind her lay three more pieces of parchment just given to her by them. 

"You've all improved considerably, especially Sharlen." She nodded towards the last boy, who turned slightly pink. 

"However," she continued, "all three of you seem to be suffering from one particular problem. We are going to focus on that problem today..." 

It was now a month and half since school had started. There was one major problem right now, that of illiteracy. The Ravenclaw Sharlen and the Hufflepuff Thirot had not known how to read or write at all, and Ygraine hadn't known very well. Because of them, the teachers did all the lessons orally. It had been Cedric and Elise together who had come up with the idea of teaching the Muggle-borns how to read and write. They were taking turns acting as teacher. 

"...I also noted on the sixteenth line..." 

Sixteen was quite a number. Today happened to be, by the wizard calender, Sixteenth Junius. That was Elise's birthday. She had not mentioned it to anyone except Lucinda, who had gotten her a compass for her broom. 

Lucinda didn't approve of Elise trying to teach the Muggle-borns. Elise had quickly given up trying to change her opinion. 

"...I will demonstrate again..." 

The only thing that was really going on other then that was Merlin's gift. It still was mind-boggling to Elise how he was taking such an amazing thing in stride. True, there were things he might not understand growing up amoung Muggles, but to be able to see the future! 

"....understand?" They nodded. 

"I would like you to try this..." 

She couldn't understand other things about Merlin as well. He had this amazing ability, and he was amazing at Transfiguration and good at Charms and Potions, and yet he could not handle a broomstick. Nor could she understand Slytherin's attitude towards him. It was no secret that Merlin was in fact Slytherin's son, and yet the way Slytherin had rejected him. While Nathan insisted that it was merely the rivalry between Slytherin and Gryffindor, that made even less sense to Elise. 

"Begin." All three pulled out parchment and quill and began to write, slowly, very carefully. But then, Nathan was still in a daze over the news of his mother having yet another baby. It had been three years since the birth of his youngest brother, Lawerence, and Nathan kept talking about how he had been so sure that was it. He might not have time, Elise reasoned, to pay much attention to the behavior of one teacher. 

"Elise?" Thirot had run into trouble. He was usually the first to do so, since Sharlen was very intelligent and Ygraine had learned a little before coming to Hogwarts. "What's wrong?" 

"I can't figure out..." Matters were only made worse for Thirot by Cedric's behavior towards him, which was probably not what it should be. Elise had overheard Gryffindor telling Ravenclaw he thought Cedric had a crush on Thirot, and was too young to realize it. Ravenclaw had not been pleased, she knew a bit about Muggle culture, and apparently Muggles very firmly believed that men should only love woman, and vice versa. Which did help to explain why there were so many of them. 

And although Thirot as much as wizard as Cedric, spending his childhood amoung Muggles meant he shared thier beliefs. "Do you understand now?" 

"Yes, thanks." But then, Thirot had accepted he was wizard. Maybe in time he would be able to accept that there was a boy in love with him? But in time, Cedric's crush would also probably go away. Therefore Thirot would likely find himself accepting seeing two other boys, one of them Cedric, in love. 

Ygraine was first to put her quill down. Elise looked over her parchment. "Very good. But you've made a mistake here..." 

Elise liked Ygraine. She was an exceptional flier, and was very nice. The last appeared to be what Hufflepuff liked in her students, because so were her five housemates. On the other hand, Hufflepuff didn't seem to care too much about intelligence. Ygraine wasn't stupid, and nor was Thirot. Timothy, on the other hand... 

Thirot put down his quill. Sharlen had already finished. Elise gathered thier parchment up. "Next week, I want you to hand in..." Homework. In the short time she'd given and recieved it, Elise had learned to both hate it and appreciate the nessecity of it. She didn't like marking it either, it was so tedious, but if she didn't, what was the point of giving it out? 

"You can go now." They gathered up thier things and left. 

Elise gathered up the pieces of parchment she would need to mark that evening. Standing up, she suddenly smiled to herself as an idea came to mind. She tucked the parchment smartly under her elbow, drew herself up like a fully grown woman, and marched proudly back to the Gryffindor common room. 

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   [1]: izzy@moody.cx



	5. The Monster in the Mountain

490-1990:490 Izzy here, with my fanfic, "The Monster in the Mountain", a continuation of the year 490 in my Very Long Series. Here things might get a bit more interesting. Rowling owns the Founders, I own those students that aren't public domain. The Monster in the Mountain By Izzy 

It was now the Primus Julius. 

The owls came in and Agrippa, looking more worn then usual, landed in front of Nathan. "Who's the letter from?" Merlin asked him. 

"You don't know already?" joked Elise. 

"It's from Valerie." Valerie was the oldest after Nathan. "Mother's rather ill." 

"Nothing not related to her pregency, I hope?" said Cedric. 

"Valerie doesn't think so." He put the letter away. "Well, we'd better get to Potions." 

Speaking of Potions, Merlin couldn't help but notice Gryffindor watched as Ravenclaw got up from her seat and left the Hall. How would word get out that were lovers anyway? Would it simply be pieced together by someone? 

Across to the Entrance Hall, down to the dungeons. Exactly why they held Potions here was beyound Merlin. It was dark and gloomy, and the floor seemed to be shaking. 

"Who cast the spell on the floor?" asked Nathan after a second or so. 

"Wasn't me," answered Cedric. 

Professor Ravenclaw came in. "Why is the floor shaking?" she demanded. 

"No idea." 

"Dunno." 

"Wouldn't know." 

"We were hoping you could tell us." 

"Out of the dungeon," Ravenclaw ordered, and they obeyed. 

She left them in the Entrance Hall and hurried up the stairs. About half an hour later all four Founders, thier wands out hurried through the Entrance Hall into the dungeon. 

"The shaking has increased," noted Rowena when they arrived. 

Godric pointed his wand towards the floor. "Sequen vibrato." 

The wand discharged a bolt of light, which hit the floor and flew around, before gathering at one spot, which slowly moved across the floor. 

All four Founders moved towards that spot, surrounding it. "There must be something below there." 

"On the count of four." They laid their wands-with difficulty-onto the shifting spot of light. "One- two-three-four!" 

"Ascenpone!" 

The floor spilt with a loud crack, and out shot a man's head. Below him they could see a lion's shoulders. 

"Manticore!" yelled Godric. All four backed up very swiftly. 

"They're not up in England yet!" yelled Rowena in protest. 

"Well I guess they are now!" Salazar yelled back. 

"Watch out for tail!" hollered Helga. 

Her warning was well heeded, and Rowena moved out of the way as the deadly sting lashed at her. "Run! There's no defeating this thing!" 

The four Founder turned and ran, the thing roaring behind them. They reached the Entrance Hall with it's roars not far off. There both the Gryffindors and the Ravenclaws were sitting. "Get up!" yelled Godric. "We have to get out of here!" 

"What?" 

"What's wrong?" 

"What's that sound?" 

"Manticore!" 

"There aren't manticores-" started a Ravenclaw. 

"Well I guess there are now!" answered another. By now, all the pure-blooded students were on thier feet, and pulling the confused Merlin and Sharlen up. 

"Go upstairs!" Gryffindor yelled to Slytherin. "Get the others out of here!" 

Outside, Gryffindor began to lead them down to mountain. "We're going to the lake," Nathan was saying to the two-Muggle-borns. "Manticores can't swim." 

"What's a Manticore?" Merlin asked. 

His question went unanswered however, as the three adults piled them into a boat, just as the other students and teachers appeared at the top of the mountain. 

Before the adults themselves could get in, however, there was a dreadful roar, and the manticore appeared out of nowhere in the middle of the hill. It ignored the people at the top and went for the lake. The pureblood children all screamed. Realizing this had to be the monster, the Muggle-borns all screamed too. 

Gryffindor shoved the other two in. "Cast off!" 

The boat drifted across the lake painfully slowly. Gryffindor moved swiftly out of the way as a manticore came, unbelievingly fast, to the shore. It lashed its tail out at the boat but it was safely out of range. 

The manticore turned on Gryffindor. It charged. Gryffindor moved swiftly out of the way and into the water, and swam out of range. The manticore whirled around, then began charging up the mountain towards everyone else. 

Gryffindor promptly swam back and made a commotion in the water. The manticore turned again, confused. 

"Come along," growled Gryffindor, splashing water in the manticore's direction. Itb dove into the water. 

Gryffindor began to swim towards the center of the lake. The students in the boat winced as he dodged the tail, once, twice. The manticore, not being able to swim, started to sink. It's tail lashed out once more, and for a terrible moment, the people in the boat thought Gryffindor had been stung. But he continued to tread water, and the pure-bloods sagged with relief. Seeing them do so, the Muggle-borns did the same. He nodded towards them. "Get back to shore. It's safe." 

It seemed no time at all that they whole school was walking back into the castle. "We will lead the students back to thier towers. There may be more." 

"There a very large hole in the dungeon now." noted Hufflepuff. "We'll have to have it filled in immediately." 

None of them noticed the strange glint in Slytherin's eye. "Not nessecarily." he commented. "The Potions class can easily be held in another dungeon. Plus, if the beast had a mate, best we deal with her now. I shall go down there tonight and search for her." 

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	6. The Space Below

Izzy here, with my fanfic, "The Space Below", the next piece of the Very Long Series, consisting of Salazar Slytherin creating his Chamber. He is Rowling's. The Space Below By Izzy 

Salazar Slytherin was glad classes were over. He'd just had to deal with the Hufflepuffs. Not only were there six of them, but two of them were Muggle-born. He hated Muggle-borns. He really did. 

He had offered to go down into the hole below the dungeon to hunt for any mate or offspring of the manticore. Actually, he doubted there to be any. At least, he hoped there weren't, because he had plans they cwould then interfere with. 

The students skirted around him as he walked down the corridor. He ignored them. He'd never cared what other people thought of him. 

He noted the presence of Myrddin, the boy he was unfortunate enough to have as a son. He'd known the boy was trouble ever since he'd seen him. He was a true Muggle-born if Salazar ever saw one. As if to confirm the point, he was talking to the noble's brat Ygraine. They both fled and Salazar's approach, and he made no attempt to persue them. 

The dungeons were dark now. Salazar lit his wand but left the rest of the dungeon dark. He reached the location of the hole. 

A command to his wand produced a long coil of silver rope. Another command placed it so it could be climbed down. His wand still lit, he began climbing down it. 

He touched down very far beneath the school. That was good. The further away he was, the better. 

He extended the light of his wand as far as it would go. The place stunk with the droppings of the manticore. Using the light, he carefully avoided stepping on them. 

Manticores required a lot of space in their dens, but they didn't require the floor to be flat. Try as he might, Salazar couldn't avoid stumbling entirely. And then he would land in stuff he really didn't want to think about. Finally he started issueing blasts from his wand to insure a flat surface to walk on. 

As he walked, confirming to himself that there was no living thing in the den besides himself, his mind started turning to his plans. 

He'd need a way in, first of all. The hole in the dungeon floor by which he got in would soon be filled up. 

He used his wand to levitate enough rocks for him to reach the ceiling, then lay his wand across it. A word muttered began the task of scanning the rock. His eyes closed and he went into a trance, so as to be able to tell better what was in the rock. His mind was away, wandering through the blank stone- 

And suddenly it wasn't blank. He concentrated harder, until a picture began drawing itself in his head as the wand scanned the air pocket it had found. Then he indentified it. Hogwarts was one of the few places in Britian that still had a system of running water, and there was a pipe not too far from the den. In fact, he thought there was another pipe, connected to this one, which ended in one of the washrooms. A perfect entryway. 

He lowered himself with perfect percision to the floor. Then, with much more meticulousness then earlier, he slowly blasted away the walls, carving out a long tunnel, until he reached the gap that was the drain pipe. 

Then he used this same method to trim away the walls, floor, and ceiling, until he was standing in a large square room. When he was done, he surveyed his handiwork. 

The truth was, he'd seen warning signs before the school had opened, that things would not go to his liking. The Muggle-borns, the Apparition shield(which thankfully was not yet complete), even his bastard son, who probably would be there whatever happened, seemed to make the point. He had decided to do something for himself. 

He raised his wand, _"Accio Creosus."_ He concentrated, until his toad came flying down into the pit. He caught it. 

"I have a very special task for you, Creosus." He put the toad down on the ground, and then pulled out a chicken egg. "Stay on this day and night." He said. "And whatever you do, once it hatches, don't look at it. Understand?" The toad croaked. Salazar knew he understood. He was an intelligent toad. 

He climbed back up the cord, plugging the hole up as he went. Finding the location of the pipe again wouldn't be problem. Godric had maps of the entire school in his office. He was trusting enough to let Salazar borrow them. 

He joined the teachers for dinner in the Great Hall. "Anything down there?" Godric asked. 

"No, nothing. I've filled it up." 

"Good." Godric smiled. "Will you move your students back in there, Rowena?" 

"Not for awhile I don't think." replied Rowena. "I don't quite have your bravery, Godric. I'll continue using the other dungeon. How far did the thing's den extend?" she asked Salazar. 

"Not very far. I don't think it left the dungeon we found it in." 

"We caught it early, you mean," said Godric. Salazar nodded. 

"I'm still using the other dungeon." said Rowena. 

Talk went on, and Salazar began to tune it out. He couldn't listen to the other three talking without finding his resolve against them weakening. He got up. 

"Going so soon?" he heard. 

"Yes." he wasn't about to give an explanation. 

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	7. More Flying

Izzy here, with my fanfic, "More Flying," the next installment of the Very Early Segment of the Very Long Series. This one stars Merlin, who is public domain, Elise, who is mine, and a setting which is Rowling's. Here's where I try to reconcile what I already wrote with Quidditch Through the Ages. 

More Flying By Izzy 

The days were getting very warm. Merlin had heard one of the Ravenclaws, Reuben, talk about how things were much warmer down south where he had come from, but he personally thought that if Reuben wanted all that warmth, he could go down south. 

It was getting harder to concentrate on his lessons. At this time of year, he usually fled the castle where his mother and a number of other people lived, and spent his days wandering out in the middle of nowhere. Sometimes he slept out in the open, though he always returned quickly enough so his mother didn't worry too much(noone else did, of course.) 

These were the most pleasant memories of his childhood, and like everything else in his life, they'd been turned upside-down by the need to stay inside to do work. But never mind. Everything else in his new life had been an improvement, after all. 

Except now it was going to come to an end, for a time. Both Sharlen and Thirot were needed by their parents for harvesting their crops, and both Cedric and one of the pureblood Hufflepuffs, Jacob, also had families that raised crops and needed their help with them, and, knowing this, Gryffindor had arranged for the school to close down during both the planting and harvest seasons. 

Two months. Septembres and Octobres. Stuck back in the castle. Everyone wondering where he'd been. Sure, they didn't care usually, but people were curious, and also paranoid, especially when he was concerned. And he had better be careful with what he did magically, or people would think he was living up to his supposed father's legacy. Which was rather amusing, since in a way, he was, but still dangerous for him. 

So when Elise asked him and Nathan to visit her, he responded by asking if he could stay the entire time. After he explained why, she consented readily. "Though if you're mother will miss you, you might want to spend a day or so saying hello sometime." 

The evening, Merlin borrowed Ygraine's owl and wrote a letter to his mother. Meanwhile Elise wrote to her father to request a broomstick large enough to carry two. Nathan peered over her arm while she did so, and exclaimed, "Your family has more then one broomstick?" 

"He made the brooms for the school," answered Elise, "he's really good at it. Our family has the best broomsticks on this island." 

On the last day of school there weren't any classes. The three Muggle-borns were given Portkeys, but the others were requested to get home otherwise. Some of them, including Nathan, got Portkeys from their parents, and the others had their parents come to fetch them. Merlin met Cedric's mother in this manner. She did not stay long, but sped off with Cedric clinging to her on a broomstick that didn't look quite as comfortable as the brooms they used in school. 

In the early afternoon, almost simultaneously, Lucinda's father and several owls carrying a large broomstick arrived. Merlin had spent the day wandering around watching everyone leave, while Elise and Lucinda sat together at the castle entrance. 

Merlin ran up to them when he heard Elise call. He found Lucinda and her father almost ready to take off, while Elise attached her compass to the broom. Merlin tried to ignore the expression Lucinda's father was wearing. 

"See you in Novembres," Elise told Lucinda. Lucinda nodded, looking very uncomfortable. Merlin held on very tightly to Elise as they took off. Broomsticks had started making him nervous. 

Elise spent the first few minutes of the flight in silent concentration. Then she relaxed, and looked back. So did Merlin. The castle was growing smaller behind them. 

Merlin looked down. He had gotten to Hogwarts by Portkey, and thus had never had such a view of the land. 

They passed over a lot of wild land, and then groups of huts. "What happens when someone looks up?" he asked, since he knew wizards preferred to keep a low profile. 

"They convince themselves they've just seen a bird or a cloud and that they're very tired usually." Elise answered. "Sometimes they guess what it is, but a sighting on its own never makes a difference. They shrug, or forget. We only have a problem once or twice a century." 

Merlin continued watching as they passed over more wild land, then a village which even with his relative inexperience, was obviously a wizard one. "That's the Hollow. Gryffindor was born there." He heard Elise say. 

"Why's it called the Hollow?" 

"Search me." They flew on. 

Then, "where do you live?" 

"Queerditch Marsh," she said proudly. 

"Is that where this game you keep talking about comes from?" He looked up from the ground. 

"Yep. Though I suppose I'm really just talking about it to keep it alive." 

"What? But it's-" 

"It's seemed allright to you? Well, it's time for a confession, because you'll discover this once you reach the marsh. Queerditch's only export's dying outside it. Twenty years ago there were 15 teams playing against each other, and it was bringing the country together nicely. But then was an arguement, and another one, and now only 4 teams are left, and they're all on the verge of falling apart." 

"So what do you intend to do?" 

"Tell my children about it, I suppose," she replied. "Parchment doesn't last too long. Perhaps we can keep it alive for awhile. Maybe long enough for it to be revived. And you are learning to play it." 

"I can't handle a broomstick," he reminded her. She ignored him, and they were silent again. 

"Had any more visions?" she asked after some time. 

"No," he answered. 

"So, what was in your first one?" 

She must have asked him about a thousand times. She'd managed to get out of him that it took place three years in the future, but that was all. He was considering just telling people then, and thus of course causing the events his vision to happen. After all, he had seen and heard nothing that said he hadn't caused them. Hufflepuff had told him people would find out "when it is time." Considering how rare his gift was, he doubted she knew how they would find out. 

She had also told him not to tell anyone. Merlin wasn't afraid of her; who could be afraid of gentle Hufflepuff? But he didn't want to displease her. 

Taking his silence for a refusal to tell her, Elise quickly said, "Never mind." 

After some time, they passed a mountain, a bit too closely for Merlin's comfort. In fact, he swore Elise had to swerve a bit, though she denied it. "I just wanted you to get a close look at this mountain. There's real ancient stuff inside there, stuff from Roman wizards." 

"Wow." They flew on. "Will I ever be going there?" 

Elise shrugged. "I want to go there myself. But there are rules. There's people want to investigate what's down there." 

"Why?" he asked. 

"So they can learn about the Romans of course." was her answer. From the way she spoke, she thought he would have known already. But instead, Merlin felt fascinated. "Why do they want to know about them?" 

Elise shrugged. "They just do. They're curious." 

The concept that people would seek after knowledge for its own sake seemed amazing to young Merlin. Even at Hogwarts, where he'd been bombarded with knowledge, it had gone without saying for him that it all might be needed someday. Except for History of Magic, which was a useful class for sleep. Professor Binns didn't seem to notice sleepers in his class, oddly enough. 

Elise must have guessed what he was thinking, because she laughed and said, "Merlin, here in the wizarding world, there are some people out there who don't have to worry about their survival from sunup to sundown. There are some who do; I'm not saying things are perfect. But there people out there who are assured of enough food and of shelter and the rest of it that they can spend time persuing other things. Like knowledge." 

"I don't think the Muggle world's that bad off," replied Merlin. "It's just..." he shook his head. He didn't know what it was. His mother, for instance. She was greatly pitied, but she was also provided for, and while sometimes there wasn't enough food to go around and she was effected by that, her role in life didn't permit her to do anything about it. But she had never been interested in knowledge. She had never really been interested in anything, besides sometimes worrying about her son's well-being. 

"Different?" Elise suggested. 

Merlin nodded. Not the word he was looking for, but close enough. 

"We're nearly there," she announced seconds later. Indeed, Merlin could see a group of houses on the edge of a marsh. They began to drop in altitude. 

"Like it?" Elise asked. "Sure," Merlin answered, though he didn't really have an opinion. 

However, as they started to descend rapidly, he did get an opinion:it smelled bad. He felt Elise breath in deeply, so persumably her opinion differed from his. "You like the smell." 

Elise giggled. "No, not really, it just reminds me of home." 

Home. She liked being reminded of home. Merlin suddenly felt jealous. 

His jealousy increased when they coasted towards one of the dwellings, and several people hurried out to greet them. Elise had a mother, a father, and two younger brothers. She touched the broomstick down lightly, and jumped off, causing it to fall and Merlin to sink into the very soft ground. He watched, trying to pull himself up without sinking further, as she embraced all four members of her family. Then she came over and yanked him out. "Looks like Master Myrddin has to learn how to keep his footing!" 

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